Fayetteville, Arkansas - The U.S. Marshals
and Benton County Sheriff’s Office, a member of the Northwest Arkansas
Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force, announce the arrest of Jeremy
Daniel Stewart, age 25. Stewart was arrested on April 2, 2009, in
Bentonville, Arkansas just hours after the Benton County Sheriff’s
Office received a credible tip from Texas regarding Stewart’s
whereabouts. Following a vehicle pursuit in Bentonville, where Stewart
was living as an unregistered sex offender, the Benton County Sheriff’s
Office and members of the NWA Fugitive Task Force arrested Jeremy Daniel
for a Washington State felony warrant, among other local charges.

Stewart, a convicted sex offender in Oregon,
absconded from Washington State over two years ago. He failed to comply
with his registration requirements set forth from his original
conviction in Oregon. Investigators believe Stewart arrived in Arkansas
at some point in mid-March and was living with family in the area while
he awaited the arrival of his girlfriend and children.

At approximately 10 am on April 2, 2009, the
Benton County Sheriff’s Office received a credible tip from Texas
indicating Stewart, a convicted sex offender, may be in the Bentonville
area. By 2 pm of the same day, Stewart was in custody after he attempted
to flee law enforcement.

On April 2, 2009, Task Force members arrived
at the residence thought to be that of Jeremy Stewart. Just as Task
Force Officers were arriving, they saw an individual who they identified
as Stewart leaving the residence in a vehicle. As Task Force officers
approached the vehicle and identified themselves, Stewart sped away.
Officers pursued Stewart briefly, and after the vehicle was stopped,
Stewart then fled on foot. Stewart was captured shortly thereafter.
Following the pursuit, investigators determined Stewart’s girlfriend and
two children were in the vehicle during the pursuit. Stewart was charged
locally with failing to register as a convicted sex offender, felony
fleeing, fleeing by vehicle, and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Stewart is being held in the Benton County Detention facility, where he
awaits the disposition of his charges, and possible extradition back to
Washington State.

According to Deputy U. S. Marshal Dewaine
Allen, “[t]he NWA Sex Offender & Violent Crime Task Force continues to
make unregistered sex offenders in the community a primary enforcement
target.”
The Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force is
comprised of the U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas Department of Community
Corrections, Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll County Sheriff’s
Office, as well as Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Siloam Springs, and
the Bentonville Police Departments. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office
continues to manage the Federal grant that funds the Task Force.

Every year, the U.S. Marshals and its
associated Task Forces throughout the country arrest more fugitives than
all federal law enforcement agencies combined. Last year, this number
was more than 73,000 state and local fugitives and more than 36,000
federal fugitives.